Reduce Personal Automobile Use

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How to take action

• Track your car usage for one or two weeks. Record the number of trips, distance per trip, and purpose. Find out what your total kilometres driven during the period is. Find out if your household is "AutoObese".
• Make a pledge. Aim to reduce a percentage of travel, or a certain number of trips. You can calculate your emissions savings – and your savings on fuel.
• Stop driving short distances. Each year, Canadians make 2,000 car trips for distances less than three kilometres. Cold-start driving for short distances is the most fuel-inefficient type of travel. Walk or ride a bike for short trips.
• Plan your trips. The best way to reduce car usage is to use the car more efficiently. Do all the errands in one area at the same time. Save errands up until you can make one trip for several needs. Avoid single-purpose trips. Do one large grocery shop per week rather than little trips every day.
• Park the car once you hit the city. If you live outside an urban area, drive in and park. Walk or use transit from there. You'll avoid traffic and cut down your vehicle use.
• Consider delivery. Use services that delivery groceries, rental videos, or other needed items to your door. Delivery services consolidate travel requests and can operate more efficiently than a single vehicle can.
• Telework when possible. Working from home even one day per week makes a difference. Ask your employer to consider ways to improve employees' commuting options.
• Take transit for at least one trip per week.
• Change your thinking. Look at your car as a specialized tool, and only one in a range of options for personal mobility.
• Become a one-car family. Trips are more likely to get consolidated when a car is shared amongst several people. Calculate your cost of ownership and consider what you can save.

Why it makes a difference

• Every kilometre you drive consumes fuel, costs you money, and produces greenhouse gas emissions. The less you drive, the lighter your impact. Parking the car – even part of the time – helps slow climate change.
• Giving your kids experiences walking, biking, and taking the bus to get around will help them make environmentally-friendly, cost-saving transportation choices in the future.
• Walking or cycling – even short distances – is better for your health than sitting in a car. Getting in the habit of being a pedestrian or cyclist shifts you towards a healthier lifestyle.